It all started when my friend Dana posted a picture of a floral Christmas tree. I was smitten, and wanted to track it down. So starting with a keyword search in Google, I finally found its origin.
Winterthur is a museum, gallery, and garden in Delaware. Each year, they put on a massive spectacular at Christmastime. The dried floral Christmas tree is a 29-year tradition and is made fresh every year from outstanding examples of blooms gathered throughout the gardens in all the summer months on the grounds. Gorgeous flowers are preserved, carefully boxed, and saved to later put on the tree. Therefore, each year's tree is a different creation.
It's a beautiful idea, especially when you consider that Christmas decorations are really like our way of gardening in winter. They are a vivid celebration of color, warmth, and joy, just as a our summer gardens bring us a similar dreamlike, drowsy, and perfumed happiness.
But this gorgeous tree is not the only one at Winterthur. Numerous other breathtaking trees are featured among its halls. One of them is this butterfly tree I've seen on many a Pinterest board. I did not know its origin until now!
I think my personal favorite is the March Bank tree, featuring a celebration of the earliest spring flowers, Daffodils and Snowdrops, peeking through the icy blue snow of the tree.
One of my favorite things about Christmas decorations both indoors and outdoors is, in continuation of the theme of gardening, how no two are alike, and yet all are so beautiful. Some people wouldn't be caught using a single colored lightbulb, while others really love the big oversized multicolor vintage lights. Some people use all organic materials and ornaments on their trees, while others prefer pop culture figurines. And the best part is...no one is wrong. Like flowers in a garden, the multitude of decorating styles are all beautiful because of their variety.
There's a line in a Christmas song that says "the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be on your own front door." The point is that, like viewing impressive summer gardens and then going home to one's own simple flowerbeds and borders, there's a warmth that comes with creating something ourselves that cannot be replaced, no matter how beautiful the examples we may admire. May we all be content with our individual holly on our individual front doors this year, and be thankful for the warmth that comes with a happy home.
